Barry Stanton
Encyclopedia
Barry Stanton is an Australian rock'n'roll musician. Discovered by fellow recording artist Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...

 in 1958, Barry regularly performed on many Australian music programs such as Bandstand
Bandstand (Australia)
Bandstand was an Australian musical/variety television show which screened from November 1958 to 1972. It was produced at the studios of TCN-9 in Sydney and eventually became a national program as Nine Network expanded into other Australian cities in the early 1960s.Bandstand was created by Nine...

, The Johnny O'Keefe Show, Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock was an Australian Rock and Roll television show which showed on ABC Television from 28 February 1959 to 1962 and was broadcast at 6PM on Saturday evenings....

, Sing Sing Sing and The Good Old Days of Rock'n'Roll.

He released six singles on Australian label Leedon Records
Leedon Records
Leedon Records was an Australian record label active from 1958 to 1969. It was founded by American entrepreneur Lee Gordon in early 1958.-Establishment and early releases:...

, the first being Don't Let Go in 1960. His second release, the Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...

 composition Don't You Worry 'Bout That, reached number 3 on the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 Top 40 in September 1960. Two other singles were issued, but his fifth and biggest release Beggin' On My Knees - written by Barry's brother Rod - reached number one in 1962. Signed by RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...

 in 1964 he released A Tribute To The King - a song written for Barry by fellow musician and good friend Johnny Devlin
Johnny Devlin
Johnny Devlin, born John Lockett Devlin , was an influential early New Zealand rock musician, sometimes called "New Zealand's answer to Elvis Presley"....

 - followed by My Little Emmy in 1965.

Even though he was one of the most popular performers of his era, Stanton achieved minimal success outside of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. He continues to perform regularly around the country along with other artists from the JO'K
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...

 era.

Early life

Barry was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1941. After the Second World War had ended, a five year old Barry and his family packed up and moved to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, settling in the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 suburb of Neutral Bay. By early teens Barry had fallen victim to the rock'n'roll craze that was sweeping the world and was soon writing his own songs while teaching himself to play guitar. Leaving school at 16 to become an apprentice motor mechanic, he used any spare time he had with his guitar doing what he truly loved. It wasn't long before he started his own band 'Barry Stanton & the Boppers' and was playing regular gigs at the local dancehalls. Word spread quickly about Barry's raw style of rock'n'roll and his popularity continued to grow considerably with each performance.

Lee Gordon/Leedon

Discovered by a JO'K
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...

 associate in 1959 while playing during the interval in between Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...

 and James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...

 movies at Manly
Manly, New South Wales
Manly is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Manly is located 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.-History:Manly was named...

's Embassy Theatre, Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...

 didn't waste any time in recruiting Barry as a regular spot on Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock was an Australian Rock and Roll television show which showed on ABC Television from 28 February 1959 to 1962 and was broadcast at 6PM on Saturday evenings....

. Doing his first television appearance at eighteen years old, Barry quickly became one of the most popular Australian rock'n'roll singers of his time. One of the few artists to use his real name, O'Keefe branded him the 'Big Boy of Rock' due to his solid physique.

Signing to the Lee Gordon
Lee Gordon
For the rock and roll promoter see Lee Gordon Lee "Stubby" Gordon was a jazz musician and the Cleveland bandsman who conducted the Rhythm Masters orchestra and wrote the music for songs such as "Tell Me Dreamy Eyes" , "Worryin' Blues" , and "Rippin' It Off." He was the first to broadcast...

 label (which would later become Leedon Records
Leedon Records
Leedon Records was an Australian record label active from 1958 to 1969. It was founded by American entrepreneur Lee Gordon in early 1958.-Establishment and early releases:...

) later that year, he released his first single - a cover of Roy Hamilton
Roy Hamilton
Roy Hamilton was an American singer, who achieved major success in the US R&B and pop charts in the 1950s...

's Don't Let Go/I Got A Woman. During this period he began touring with several other popular artists at the time including Digby Richards, Jimmy Little
Jimmy Little
Jimmy Little AO , is an Australian Aboriginal musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose career has spanned six decades. For many years he was the only Aboriginal star on the Australian music scene...

, and Warren Williams
Warren Williams (rock musician)
Warren Williams is a rock musician from Australia. In the 1950s, he was a pioneer of Australian rock music, forming the group Warren Williams and the Squares.Williams was a prolific songwriter.- The Squares :...

.

June 1960 saw Barry's first interstate tour with a star-studded line-up consisting of Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...

, Laurel Lea, Booka Hyland, Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee is an Australian singer. He was raised on sheep property in Rowena, New South Wales and has been performing since the mid 1950s. At the peak of his career, Lee had eight national #1 hits and produced five Gold Records...

, The Sapphires, Ray Hoff, and himself. This would be the tour that would almost end O'Keefe's life after losing control of his Plymouth Belvedere near Kempsey. Stanton's follow-up single Don't You Worry 'Bout That/You Are Gone was well received in most states, reaching #37 on the Sydney music charts. A 'viewers' choice' poll for the most popular artists of 1960 showed Barry to be the fourth most requested artist to appear on Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock was an Australian Rock and Roll television show which showed on ABC Television from 28 February 1959 to 1962 and was broadcast at 6PM on Saturday evenings....

, with Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee is an Australian singer. He was raised on sheep property in Rowena, New South Wales and has been performing since the mid 1950s. At the peak of his career, Lee had eight national #1 hits and produced five Gold Records...

 taking out the #1 position, JO'K
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...

 coming in second, and Digby Richards at third.

RCA

Signing to RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...

 in 1964, Stanton's first single on the label Tribute To The King/That's Right, All Right was released. Tribute To The King - a song written for Barry by fellow musician and good friend Johnny Devlin
Johnny Devlin
Johnny Devlin, born John Lockett Devlin , was an influential early New Zealand rock musician, sometimes called "New Zealand's answer to Elvis Presley"....

 - was a dedication to rock'n'roll superstar Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

. With both Presley and Stanton signed to the same record label, it wasn't long before the song was heard by the man himself. A few weeks later Barry was informed that he had received a personal telegram from 'The King
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

' congratulating him on the record. Ecstatic as he was on being told of this, Barry would never lay eyes upon it himself, being told it was being used for promotional purposes by the record company. Unsurprisingly the telegram was mysteriously misplaced, never to be recovered. Truth of this story has been confirmed by several artists, including Devlin, who was A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...

 Manager for RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...

 at the time.

His next single My Little Emmy/Dancing Partner was released in 1965. This year would also see Barry become a father with the birth of his son, whom he had to fellow singer and wife Kelly Green who he had met on Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock was an Australian Rock and Roll television show which showed on ABC Television from 28 February 1959 to 1962 and was broadcast at 6PM on Saturday evenings....

. They would go on to have a daughter the following year before splitting up shortly thereafter.

During this time Barry did several interstate tours performing alongside Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs
Billy Thorpe
William Richard "Billy" Thorpe, AM was a renowned English-born Australian pop / rock singer-songwriter and musician...

 and Ray Brown & The Whispers
Ray Brown & The Whispers
. For other uses of Whispers, see Whispers page.Ray Brown & The Whispers were a highly successful Australian rock band from 1964 to 1967...

.

1965-1980

Due to changing music trends and feeling somewhat let down by the industry that created him, 1965 saw Barry Stanton's career fall to an all-time low, with only the odd show here and there it seemed that rock'n'roll had been laid to rest forever. Groups seemed to be taking the place of the individual singer, with bands such as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 and The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

 taking up most of the music chart's top positions. With almost no work left for these stars of yesterday most had to get regular day jobs in order to pay the bills. Stanton having felt the full brunt of this took up work as an electrician. Until 1974, when he received a phone call from Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...

 inviting him - along with other big names from the sixties like Ray Brown
Ray Brown & The Whispers
. For other uses of Whispers, see Whispers page.Ray Brown & The Whispers were a highly successful Australian rock band from 1964 to 1967...

, Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee is an Australian singer. He was raised on sheep property in Rowena, New South Wales and has been performing since the mid 1950s. At the peak of his career, Lee had eight national #1 hits and produced five Gold Records...

, Jade Hurley, Johnny Devlin
Johnny Devlin
Johnny Devlin, born John Lockett Devlin , was an influential early New Zealand rock musician, sometimes called "New Zealand's answer to Elvis Presley"....

, and Dinah Lee
Dinah Lee
Dinah Lee is the stage name of New Zealand-born singer, Diane Marie Jacobs , who performed 1960s pop and then adult contemporary music. Her debut single from early 1964, "Don't You Know Yockomo?", achieved No. 1 chart success in New Zealand and, across the Tasman Sea, in Brisbane and Melbourne...

 - to be part of his new show called The Good Old Days of Rock 'n' Roll. This re-surge of the sixties rock'n'roll era would prove to be a successful one, running for four years in total. Rock'n'roll was back it seemed, though this would prove to be another testing time for all involved as the 1980s saw the music styles change considerably once again.

During this time Stanton remarried and had two daughters, born in 1976 and 1979.

1981-onward

Mona Lisa & Others in 1981 saw the return of Barry to the recording studio, putting down an official recording of the song that launched his career on Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock was an Australian Rock and Roll television show which showed on ABC Television from 28 February 1959 to 1962 and was broadcast at 6PM on Saturday evenings....

 some 20 years earlier. Though never released through a major recording label, this album showed a more mature side of Barry musically with most of the songwriting done by himself and brother Rod. Included is a cover of the Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...

 & Margaret McLaren hit Mockingbird
Mockingbird (Inez & Charlie Foxx song)
"Mockingbird" is a 1963 song written and recorded by Inez and Charlie Foxx, based on the folk song "Hush Little Baby".-1960s:The original single was credited to Inez Foxx with vocal accompaniment by her brother Charlie, as they alternated the lyric on a syllabic basis...

which would see Stanton team up with good friend Pattie Towers. The pair would also perform it live on The John Singleton Show later that year. Considered by many fans to be some of Barry's best work, it has become somewhat of a rare gem to collectors due to its limited pressings, with most high-end record executives having never seen or heard of it. However, concert bookings were few and far between, and with a wife and young family at home Barry had to go back to working a day job as a warehouse manager.

1981 would also see the birth of his son, the youngest of three children to wife Rena, and having two children from a previous marriage to singer Kelly Green.

Present

Contrary to many poorly researched articles, Barry has never left the music industry. He continued to play shows Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 wide from the time he began in 1959 until 2006 when he took a well-deserved break from showbiz to spend time with his grandchildren. But once a rocker always a rocker, and after only two years of retirement Barry was talked into doing a comeback concert in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 playing to a sold-out crowd. The 'Big Boy of Rock' proved he still has what it takes to get the crowd moving.

Discography

  • Don't Let Go (1960) Lee Gordon
  1. Don't Let Go (I. Hayes)
  2. I Got A Woman (R. Richard/R. Charles)
    • Don't You Worry 'Bout That (1960) Leedon
  3. Don't You Worry 'Bout That (O'Keefe)
  4. You Are Gone (Dempsey-Zoeller)
    • Barry Stanton Sings EP (1960) Leedon
    • A Teenage Idol (1961) Leedon
  5. A Teenage Idol (O'Keefe)
  6. Indeed I Do (Scharr)
    • Beggin' On My Knees (1962) Leedon
  7. Beggin' On My Knees (R. Stanton)
  8. Solitary Confinement (Colijah-Pori)
    • Back In Your Arms (1962) Leedon
  9. Back In Your Arms (R. Stanton)
  10. For Now And Always (R. Stanton)
    • Little Miss Heartbreak (1963) Leedon
  11. Little Miss Heartbreak (Bass-Boyer)
  12. You'll Never Learn, Will Yer? (B. Stanton)
    • Little Miss Heartbreak EP (1963) Leedon
    • A Tribute To The King (1964) RCA
  13. A Tribute To The King (Devlin)
  14. That's Right, All Right (R. Stanton)
    • My Little Emmy (1965) RCA
  15. My Little Emmy (B. Stanton)
  16. Dancing Partner (Crane/Wisner/Paddy)
    • City Of Armidale (1980) Bunyip
  17. City Of Armidale (R. Stanton)
  18. Big Front Door (R. Stanton)
    • Rock On! w/Johnny Rebb (1981) Raven
    • Mona Lisa & Others
      Mona Lisa & Others
      Mona Lisa & Others is an album released in 1981 by Australian Rock & Roll singer Barry Stanton.-Track listing:# "Mona Lisa"# "State Border Line"# "Married Woman"# "Days Gone By"# "Trying To Get To You"# "Mockingbird" w/Pattie Towers# "One Night"...

      (1981) KEG
    • A Tribute To The King (Rare Songs 1957-1965) (1988) Canetoad
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